A night with the boys
by YulianaHenderson
Summary: "'You're right! You're absolutely right,' Jane exclaimed. 'I'm going to propose to Lisbon.'" Watch out what you scream when you're drunk, Jane... Jisbon, Rigspelt. Rated K plus. Genres Hurt/Comfort and Romance in further chapters.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: Be careful what you wish for, Rigsby! This story is just based on what Rigsby said in the beginning of 5x02, "Maybe we should invite him out for a night with the boys." I dunno, it was just so epic and I laughed my ass off at Cho's comment so yeah, why not make a fic out of it, right?**

**So, about this fic in general: It's a one-shot at the moment, but maybe that will change to a multi-chapter, I dunno. We'll see what I can come up with, right? xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

* * *

"I freaking love you, man," Wayne Rigsby said, his face serious, as he leaned against Patrick Jane. The latter shared the same expression, looking seriously in the other man's eyes.

"I know that feeling, bro," Jane replied, and Rigsby chuckled. He raised his glass of scotch and made a silent prayer.

"And I freaking love this drink!" he exclaimed, and Jane mimicked the move.

At the other end of the table, Kimball Cho just stared at the two.

"You've had too much alcohol," Cho deadpanned, and the two men turned to look at him.

"True," Jane said, and laughed in his glass.

"But you're a spoilsport."

"Because you've only had one drink."

"And you told us to get drunk."

Cho shook his head. "I didn't tell you to get drunk. _You_ did."

Jane and Rigsby looked at each other, and then chuckled. "Ah, yeah, we did."

Rigsby held up his hand to order two more scotches.

"Do you think I'm too young to get married?" Rigsby asked. Jane shook his head.  
"You're an man grown," Jane said, frowned and then chuckled. "Oops, sorry, a grown man. I think you would make an excellent husband, Wayne."  
Rigsby thought for a few seconds – though it was unlikely he really thought relevant things with the amount of alcohol in his blood.

He then nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I think I would. You know what, I'm just going to propose to Van Pelt. I don't even care what Sarah thinks about it."

Jane patted Rigsby's shoulder, and laughed. "That's the spirit!"

"I just don't want to end up like you."  
Jane's smile faltered. "What do you mean?"

"Lonely, you know. In love but not daring to do anything with it. That's just not me."

"I'm not lonely!" Jane protested.

"You are pretty lonely," Cho deadpanned. Jane stared at the two men. Then, he got up and slammed his hands on the table.

"You're right! You're absolutely right!" Jane exclaimed. A big part of the bar was suddenly quiet and looking at Jane in wonder. Sure it looked funny to see a drunk man lose it.

He looked more determined than ever.

"We should definitely shop for rings together, mate," Jane said, addressing Rigsby. The man frowned. Jane stared at Rigsby as if it was obvious what he meant with that statement, though in reality, it did not make any sense at all. At least not for a man with an equal amount of alcohol in his blood as the man who was going wild in front of him.

"I'm going to propose to Lisbon!"

* * *

**A/N: I do admit that it's a bit (leave that bit out of it) OOC, since Jane wouldn't really get drunk and all... but yeah, I thought it was fun :D.**

**Let me know if I should continue this story! (I know it's not a good one-shot if it stays like this) Please leave a REVIEW, thank you!**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: ... ... ... I'm stunned. Really. I'm at a loss of words. 13 freaking reviews for only one freaking chapter. Freaking love you guys. Can I just say that? I f**king love you. Can I marry you? All of you? Screw the law, I'm marrying all of you.**

**I'm not going to update this story daily, but when I saw how many of you wanted this continued, I thought I'd just try and this came up. I wanted to make it longer but I've got _a lot_ of homework to make tomorrow, so I can't actually post it tomorrow, so I just did it now, in the middle of the night because I've got no life at all aside from The Mentalist, school and Fanfiction :D.**

**Anyways... There were two scenarios to take this story to, both of which were offered by you (which is why I love you so much because I wasn't really sure if the story would rock). There was the whole 'Jane shows up at Lisbon's condo and proposes to her' scenario and the 'Jane and Rigsby forget all about it and then find out and don't know what to do with it' scenario. I'm going for the second one, because from what I can see, the first one isn't going to include much Jane/Rigsby action and I just love those two, so... Nothing fluffy or romantic, just as really good friends. Though Cho/Rigsby are way funnier, Jane and Rigsby should definitely spend more time together, shouldn't they? As friends, God dammit! You're a perv, you know that? :P (Note the smiley face there, it was a sarcastic remark. This is one thing I hate about writing: People can't hear your tone of voice and read your face so they won't know whether you're joking or serious. But I wasn't, so don't worry, perv :D.)**

**Again: Thanks for all the follows and reviews and all! I'm really scared I'm going to disappoint you now, I can really feel the pressure on my poor young back. Dammit.**

**It's a bit OOC in this chapter, but I'd like to think that people change, you know? Oh, and btw, the whole Lorelei/FBI thing is forgotten in this fic, I guess. I've had it with them, they are not allowed inside my mind anymore. Shame on you.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Though I would definitely fancy having Jane (in my bed...), or somebody else from the team. Lisbon would do as well, she's bad-ass. She could kick my ass everyday... Okay, now I'm just a perv. **

* * *

"Hello Sirs, how can I help you?" the young girl asked behind the counter. She didn't look exactly cheery but she sure sounded cheery. Then again, nobody could blame her for being grumpy at two in the morning.

Why this jeweler was still open this late was a true miracle.

"Well," Jane started, looked at Rigsby and then chuckled. The woman groaned slightly.

Jane coughed, and got serious. "I'm sorry. I'm here to buy an engagement ring."

The woman's eyes lit up, but then she frowned and looked between Rigsby and Jane for a few moments.  
"For... each other?"

Jane and Rigsby stopped smiling, and stared at her.

"What? No!" Rigsby said. The girl frowned, but ducked to retrieve the rings from under the counter.

"Here they are. Are you... sure, that you want to buy an engagement ring, Sir?"

"Are you doubting my sex appeal?" Jane asked. The woman shook her head, almost violently. "Because there are lots of women out there who would kill to marry me."

Rigsby chuckled, and that caused Jane to laugh too.

The woman obviously started to lose her patience. Trying to sell engagement rings to two drunk men was not how she had pictured this night to be.

Jane got serious again, and looked at the rings. Then, he pointed at one.

"That one looks beautiful," Jane said. The woman's eyes widened.

"But... but that's the most expensive ring...," she breathed. Jane flashed his 1000-watt smile at the girl, and then fetched his cash card out of his pocket, and flashed that next to his burning smile.

"Money is not an issue. Do you engrave names into the rings as well?"

**_The next day (after a night full of more drinks and terrorizing innocent (and sober) people)_**

"Good morning," Van Pelt practically chirped when she walked into the bullpen.

She was greeted by two low groans and an almost smiling Cho.

She gasped.  
"What happened with you? You look awful!"

Jane was laying on his couch, his hands over his head to block out the burning daylight. His hair looked disheveled and his suit was less neat than his suits normally looked.

Rigsby had his head on his desk, and a bucket was standing next to it.

Van Pelt smiled. "Rough night?"

"Don't talk. It hurts," Rigsby murmured, and Van Pelt chuckled.

"I told them not to take that ninth bottle of scotch," Cho deadpanned.  
"_Nine_? Oh boy, it's a miracle you're not in the hospital right now!" Van Pelt exclaimed incredulously, and Jane and Rigsby groaned louder. Van Pelt smiled, and sat down at her desk.

"Yeah. They also had a few bottles of tequila."

Van Pelt looked at Jane and Rigsby with pure wonder. "Man, you should be dead by now! I would have expected Rigsby to get wasted but _Jane_?" Van Pelt said, more to herself than anyone in particular. "Did you have a fun night though?"

Cho shrugged. "I sure had fun watching them."

A few moments later, Van Pelt had enough with the soft whining both men produced and got up. She snatched the coffee from Rigsby's desk and placed it on her desk.

"No coffee," she said, and left for a few seconds to get two glasses of orange juice and passed it on to both men.

"I can't believe you got drunk on a school's night," Van Pelt murmured and left to the kitchenette again to fetch some crackers.

"I didn't know you knew to cure a hangover," Cho said. Van Pelt stared at him for a few seconds.

"Come on. I've been to College too," she deadpanned, and gave the crackers to Jane and Rigsby.

"And you should definitely move a bit," Van Pelt ordered.

"Yes mum," Jane murmured, and Van Pelt smiled again.

Just then, Lisbon walked into the bullpen, and immediately frowned. She pointed at Jane – which caused Van Pelt to wriggle her eyebrows suggestively since Lisbon didn't seem to care about Rigsby – and looked at Cho and Van Pelt.  
"Do I want to know?" she asked, and Van Pelt chuckled.  
"Nope."

"Then I won't ask. Cho, did you call the owner of that restaurant about his relationship with Kerry?"

Cho shook his head, and Lisbon sighed.

"Fine. Rigsby, take Jane with you and go to the restaurant," she ordered, and before either of them could protest, she went back to her office.

Jane and Rigsby groaned in unison.

Van Pelt laughed, and now, Cho smiled as well.

"Good luck doing that," he said, and focused back on his screen.

-YulianaHenderson-

"Well, at least the sunglasses are trendy," Rigsby deadpanned as they stepped out of the Chevrolet Suburban. Jane nodded, immediately winching as that hurt with his headache.

"I didn't even know that it was smart to drive with a hangover," Jane said.

"Me neither. Alright, it was this restaurant, right?" Rigsby asked, pointing at a what seemed like a French restaurant. Jane nodded.

"Look, uhm... about last night...," Rigsby started, but Jane lifted his hand to stop him, shaking his head.

"Nothing happened last night. Okay, we were stupid in getting drunk, but it's not like we said anything weird, right?"

The two looked at each other, then shrugged.

"I can't remember saying something ridiculous, no," Rigsby said. Jane nodded.  
"Exactly. But then again, I can't seem to remember half the evening," Jane murmured.

"Maybe Cho knows what we've done."

"Well, if he knows, he probably won't tell us."

"True. Mr. Kidston?" Rigsby asked as they walked up to a man. He turned around, and when Rigsby flashed him his badge, Mr. Kidston turned on his heels and ran away. Rigsby looked at Jane with a pained face, before running after the now suspect, cursing for it caused his headache to grow.

Jane shook his head. "Why do they always run?"

-YulianaHenderson-

"Boss?" Van Pelt said while she knocked on Lisbon's office door. Lisbon looked up.

"Hmm?"

"I know it's stupid of them, but Jane and Rigsby... They apparently had a 'night with the boys' yesterday, and are now hung-over. Jane just called me. Rigsby...," Van Pelt started, but pressed her lips into a thin line. She was trying so hard not to laugh but this was just too funny.

"Rigsby what, Van Pelt?"

"When Rigsby ran after Mr. Kidston, he... threw up."  
Lisbon stared at Van Pelt. "Really?"

Van Pelt nodded, and a small chuckle escaped her mouth.

"It's not funny to laugh about that, Van Pelt," Lisbon stated, and Van Pelt's smile faltered.

"Of course. Sorry Boss."

"Is he alright?"  
"Who? Jane or Rigsby-"

"Rigsby of course. I don't even care what Jane does," Lisbon said, and Van Pelt averted her eyes so Lisbon couldn't see her smile.  
"They're both fine. They're on their way to the HQ, though, but... I don't think they should be at work now."

"I think that is my saying, since I'm their boss."

Van Pelt nodded, and turned around. Lisbon would find out about her feelings for Jane eventually anyway.

-YulianaHenderson-

"Hey, you imbeciles," Lisbon said when the two walked into the bullpen. They didn't look at her though, which quickly caught her attention. She sighed, and waved with her hand.

"Go lay down. If you make me puke, I'm going to fire you," she said and walked back to her office.

When Jane shook his head, Van Pelt looked at him intently, reminding everybody of an overprotective mother.

"She's right though. Puking is gross."

"And why do you remind me of a whining little girl?" Jane asked. Van Pelt almost gasped, then closed her mouth and turned around. She sat down at her desk, and began typing things frantically.  
"Sorry Grace," Jane said. Van Pelt shook her head.  
"Forget it."

"I didn't mean to-"

Van Pelt shook her head again.

"I do love you, Grace," Jane said, and Van Pelt froze, looked at him, and she had a confused and shocked expression on her face.

Jane shrugged, and while smiling, he dove onto his couch. When his head hit the armrest, he immediately sat up straight.

He looked at Rigsby, who stared at him, probably thinking the same thing.

They remembered something.

-YulianaHenderson-

"It was nothing, right? I mean, I do like you, but I don't _love_ you, you know?" Rigsby asked, almost as if he needed to remind himself more of that fact than remind Jane of it. He nervously poured his fresh black coffee in a cup.

"I know. Well, it turns out we said more than we can recall. We really need to find out what we said."

-YulianaHenderson-

"Can you pleeeaaasee tell us what we did last night?" Jane asked, spinning stupid circles on the unused office chair in front of Cho's desk.  
"I thought you were having a headache," Cho stated dryly. Jane shrugged.

"Meh. It's getting better. I guess it was a good thing that my mother was here," he said, and winked at Van Pelt, who just rolled her eyes.

"But _please_, Cho? Don't be so mean and just tell us," Jane whined again when he focused his eyes back on Cho. Cho shook his head.  
"Forget it. I'm not going to spoil the fun just yet."

Cho continued typing, but when he saw Rigsby and Jane were still sitting at his desk, he sighed quietly.

"You should check last night's clothes. They're in the closet in your attic," was all Cho said, and Jane was gone at the speed of light. Rigsby was close behind him. Funny how the attic was Jane's for everybody, while it actually wasn't. He wasn't even allowed to come there at first.

"I've never actually been to your attic," Rigsby said when they arrived at the door that severed the dark attic from the staircase. Jane shrugged.

"It's my home. And you're my friend. Let's just pretend this is some sort of house-warming. Without alcohol, obviously," Jane said, a smile on his lips, and opened the door. Rigsby huffed when he took in the room.

"I wouldn't dare call this a home. There's not even a proper bed in it," Rigsby said.

"Why would I need a good bed? I'm an insomniac, I don't sleep," Jane said, and Rigsby rolled his eyes.  
Jane walked over to the little closet – or what functioned as a closet anyways, it was just a hole in the wall but it was where he kept all his suits – and sniffed, already smiling.

"We have to stop drinking alcohol," Jane said and picked up the clothes that smiled like liquor the most – it were two suits.  
"I really don't want to know what my suit is doing here," Rigsby said and took it from Jane. They immediately checked the pockets and their eyes widened when they felt a box in both suits.

Jane opened his one instantly, and almost dropped it when he saw there was a ring in it.

"A... ring?" Rigsby asked, looking at his now opened box.

"That's not _just_ a ring, Rigsby. That's an engagement ring," Jane explained. Rigsby frowned.  
"Was I going to propose to someone? Who?"

Jane looked at Rigsby, his head slightly tilted.

"Oh.." Rigsby breathed. He took out the ring and looked at it.  
"Sarah is not going to like this. And I didn't even know I had money to buy this," he whispered, admiring the beautiful item in his hand.  
"I don't think _you_ bought that. I think I paid for both of us," Jane said, and took out his ring.

"Wait... There's something engraved in it," Jane murmured and moved it closer to his head to get a better look of it. He almost dropped it once again when he read whose name was in it.

"Oh no..." Jane breathed, and Rigsby frowned. He took the ring out of Jane's hand, and suppressed a smile when he read the engraving as well.

"Teresa Lisbon, my love forever?" Rigsby read, and almost laughed. "Well, drunk Patrick Jane sure is cheesy."

"This is not funny, Rigsby. I was about to propose to _Lisbon_. Do you realize what could have happened if I _actually_ proposed to her?"

"Uhm... You would get married?" Rigsby tried. Jane shook his head frantically.

"Lisbon would hate me forever."

"And she doesn't already?"

"Shut it. If... _If_ I would have proposed... she would hate me forever... and I couldn't have proposed anymore..."

"Wait, do you mean... that you actually _want_ to propose to Lisbon?" Rigsby asked, carefully, and when Jane looked up, all funny stuff aside, Rigsby finally understood.  
"Oh."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah :D. That was my Jisbon shipper heart already rearing its ugly head... (does that make sense? Since when can a heart rear its ugly head?)**

**I LOVE childish Jane. LOVE. If you don't like childish Jane, Lisbon, you can always give him to me.**

**I need your opinion about this one: should I make a picture for this story? Because my avatar is Charlotte and this story has nothing to do with Charlotte... Could you also tell me what I could do then for a good picture that can accompany this fic? I dunno, my brain's kinda dead at the moment. Can you blame me? It's freaking 1 am here.**

**BTW! I started watching 'Anger Management', with Charlie Sheen and Shawnee Smith (I love Saw, so that's why I mention Shawnee Smith). I'M FREAKING HOOKED.**

**Anyways, please let me know what you think of this chapter in a REVIEW, thank you! **


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: *Yay* Here I am again! I'm free of school for three weeks, starting now, I feel ****_so_**** happy now :D. (Well, actually, I don't actually have a vacation for three weeks, one week is Autumn Break and the other two are exam weeks, but since I only have three exams in these last two weeks, I see it as a break as well :D)**

**So, how are you doing? I've replied to a few of you, but not to everybody. I think I'll do that later on, but I'm sorry if I didn't. I'm kinda busy with having a boring life, so, we'll see, right? :D**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Meh.**

* * *

"But you can propose to her, right?"  
"No!" Jane exclaimed, far too loud and that caused Rigsby to startle. Jane took in a deep breath – Rigsby hadn't done anything wrong – and tried again.

"I can't... I... can't. She's in danger, all the time. She's Red John's target. Proposing to her would be like putting a giant bull-eye on her forehead. I can't put her in danger more... I just can't."

Rigsby looked at Jane, getting his thoughts all sorted out. It was obvious that what Jane told Rigsby was not the truth, or not a hundred percent anyways.

"You know that Lisbon is an agent, right? She's always in harm's way-"

"But I don't want to lose another person I love," Jane said, almost whispering, and Rigsby took in a sharp breath. He really didn't want to have this conversation with Jane, it was too personal for his liking.

"You should think about it," Rigsby advised. "Whether you propose to Lisbon or not, it has to be what you think is right. You have to do what feels right for you. Especially after all that you've been through."

Jane put his head in his hands. "Since when did my life become so complicated?"

Rigsby shrugged and got up. "Since you fell in love with Lisbon. That's okay, happens to the best of us."

Jane snorted. Rigsby made it sound like it was as simple and ordering the wrong burger at McDonald's, which obviously, it wasn't. It was a little bit more complicated than that.

Lisbon was Jane's best friend. If he would propose to her now, he would lose that friendship. And if, in the end, it turns out that marrying Lisbon was not a good idea at all, he might completely lose her and that was something that only was allowed to happen in his biggest nightmares. He couldn't lose her, that would mean the end to Patrick Jane.

Yet Lisbon was the person that proved to him that he _could_ love, that he wasn't an island and that he _could_ move on from Angela and Charlotte. Even if it was difficult, it was important to him that Lisbon took effort in showing that to him. She was more his consultant than he was hers.

Jane straightened his back and looked at the ring once again.

"It _is_ a beautiful ring."

Rigsby nodded. "It is."

Rigsby looked at his own ring, and sighed. "Let's just promise that we're never getting drunk again."

"And we won't discuss this again. I'm keeping my ring here, so that Lisbon can't see it."

Rigsby nodded, but Jane could see the hesitation in the young man's eyes. Jane didn't make sense, but when did he?

-YulianaHenderson-

"You won't be driving, Jane," Lisbon said. Jane pouted, and Lisbon rolled her eyes. "You're ill. And hung-over. I won't let you drive, especially not _my_ car."

"My car then?" Jane teased, and Lisbon sighed in frustration, storming into her office and slamming the door shut behind her. Jane smiled briefly, before retreating to his couch.

"You shouldn't tease her like that," Van Pelt said. Jane shrugged.

"She's an easy prey, I couldn't help it."

As he closed his eyes, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the ring located in his attic. He really, _really_ wanted to ask her, but he couldn't – shouldn't.

His right hand absent-mindedly touched the ring on his left hand. Would it hurt if he took Angela's ring off? And if it did, where? In his head, or in his heart? The uncertainty made him really scared because he honestly wanted to propose to Lisbon. The ever-lasting feeling of pure guilt in his heart restrained him from actually doing it, and not just only now. He had thought about proposing for at least two years now, and every time he looked at Lisbon that feeling only would increase. It was genuinely killing him.

He was the marrying guy, even though his last marriage was ruined massively. Just being boyfriend and girlfriend hadn't been enough for him with Angela. He had to know that she wouldn't leave him, and even though that even sounded selfish in his own mind, it really wasn't. He loved Angela, he couldn't stand being away from her because he was afraid she would get hurt when he was gone. He didn't want something to happen to her, and the first night that he left her alone had eventually resulted in her death. It just showed that he had to stay close to the people he loved.

He was afraid. Really afraid. Because crossing that line between 'colleagues' and 'potential lovers' was dangerous. Especially for them. With Angela, at the moment they got together, there was no serial killer luring at them. It had only been the two of them, and after nine months, they were already with three.

It was true. There was already a bull-eye on Lisbon's forehead. Engaging in any romantic – not to mention sexual – activities with her would instantly make that bull-eye grow. He couldn't have another loved one on the – rather – small group of 'deceased loved ones'.

"Jane," the familiar voice of the cute-as-a-button Senior agent snapped at him from a closer distance than he'd have anticipated. Being close to Teresa Lisbon while she was angry was so not a good idea. She had no reason to be angry, obviously, but she was and that was a fact that could not be ignored.

Jane hesitantly opened his eyes, and his breath caught in his throat at the absolute beauty of the pixy in front of him – she would definitely kill him if she knew what he thought about her. He couldn't help it: she was just so beautiful when she was angry.

"You coming?"

Jane groaned, thinking over the options he had. He could go with Lisbon, sit in her car and let her drive him to wherever they had to go to, and have the risks of an awkward conversation because he was still struggling with his feelings about his maybe/maybe not proposal.

Or he could stay on his couch and avoid her. Which was probably the best option right now.

He closed his eyes.

"Meh. I think I'm just going to sleep off my hangover."

Jane could almost feel Lisbon rolling her eyes, before she sighed out of pure frustration once again and left him.

"Keep an eye on him. And on Rigsby. Take them with you if you leave for suspects," Lisbon ordered, probably to Van Pelt, and a small smile appeared on Jane's face. Sweet Mother Teresa. Always protecting her nest.

-YulianaHenderson-

"Jane!" Lisbon exclaimed from her office.

"Uh-oh," Rigsby said, his voice muffled because his head was buried in his arms crossed on his desk.

Jane didn't move to show any interest in what Lisbon was about to say now – he already knew anyways.

"What the hell?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb, you idiot! Mrs. Ashwell just called me-"

"Ah, what did Chandra say? Did she leave a message for me-"

"She's suing you, Jane! What the hell did you do to cause this?"

Jane opened his eyes, looked at Lisbon, and then closed them again. He made a wave with his hand, and within seconds, he felt a sharp stinging on his chest.

"Ouch! Lisbon, what was that for?"

"That was for doing whatever the hell you did at that house. I need you to apologize for once, Jane. This could be _my_ job that sees its end – or at least a terrible suspension. I should really look into my contract and find some way to break this connection between us."

Jane's eyes shot open and a smile immediately spread across his features.  
"There's a _connection_ between us?"

Lisbon's eyes widened for a split-second as she realized what she'd just said, it was just a split-second, but Jane wouldn't be Jane if he didn't see that. She then shook her head and walked to her office.

Jane shook his head smiling, before he crossed eyes with Rigsby and his smile faltered. Rigsby looked deadly serious, and Jane knew what he was thinking.

Apparently, Van Pelt had noticed because she coughed, causing the two men to turn and look at her.

She raised her eyebrows before she focused back on her screen. Rigsby narrowed his eyes at Jane, before he went back to his previous stance of burying his head in his arms. Apparently, he had either nothing else to do or he was as torn as Jane was.

Jane briefly touched his wedding ring again, before he got up and walked into Lisbon's office.

"Lisbon-"

"I'm not going to talk to you before you apologized to Mrs. Ashwell."

Jane rolled his eyes. "Now, Lisbon, isn't that a bit childish-"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Well, you are now, aren't you?"

Lisbon opened her mouth to say something, before slamming it shut.

Again, Jane touched his wedding ring. He sat down on Lisbon's couch, and looked at Lisbon.

How could he do this? He really wanted to. He had to find a way – he knew there was one.

He couldn't do it now, Lisbon was igno-

Wait a minute.

Jane froze. That was it.

He jumped up. "Call Mrs. Ashwell, I'm going to apologize."

Lisbon visibly startled, and she looked at him, ready to question his motives, but instead just reached for her phone and dialed the number.

-YulianaHenderson-

She couldn't believe.

Once again, Teresa Lisbon was flabbergasted.

She had no idea what Jane had done – hell, she didn't believe she _wanted_ to know – but she did know that, normally, Jane would _never_, not over his dead body, apologize to people. Because he knew he was right, always.

He hadn't even properly apologized to _her_. She could not forgive him for that, she had felt horrible when he was in Las Vegas, away from her.

There was something going on in Jane's mind, she was sure of it. He would _never_ apologize. So why now?

She fastened her seat-belt and looked over at Jane, who jumped into the car like some sort of overexcited little boy. When his eyes crossed hers, she as sure of it. There was something bothering him. And it had to be her-related, because he seemed to behave the same with the rest of the team.

Lisbon only noticed she was staring at Jane when he softly coughed. She blushed slightly, and averted her eyes, starting the car and driving away.

Jane kept quiet, eerily quiet almost, and after ten minutes, Lisbon was done with the silent treatment. She'd rather find out now than in her office at the HQ.

"Are you okay, Jane?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You haven't said a word since we left the Ashwell house. You apologized to her, which you normally wouldn't do. And you are staring out of the window like you're pondering over becoming a monk."

Jane opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and shook his head. "I'm fine, you need to stop worrying about me."

"I won't stop that until you tell me what's wrong with you."

"And there is nothing wrong with me, so there's nothing to worry about."

Lisbon sighed out of frustration, but then let the conversation rest for now.

When Patrick Jane said that nothing was wrong with him, _everything_ was wrong with him.

-YulianaHenderson-

Jane sensed that Lisbon was looking at him from her office.

He knew that she could see that something was bothering her. She could always see right through him. He wished she wasn't so caring, it would make this easier for him.

He fumbled with his wedding ring.

He had to discuss it with her. He _had_ to. He didn't have to propose already, he could just ask if she would want to give _them_ a chance. He knew she had feelings, but that didn't have to say anything, now did it? It certainly didn't say anything for him.

He would tell her. But how?

* * *

**A/N: Yeah Jane, how? (I'm asking this question because I've got no idea how Jane'll do this :D)**

Let me know what you think in a REVIEW, thank you!


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N: Okay, so you seriously have ****_no_**** idea how unsure I am about this chapter. Omigod, like, I've never felt this way before! I've been re-reading this chapter over and over again for about two days, just to see if there was a way to make it better but I can't make it better... The previous chapters were great, I was actually quite confident about them, but this one... It's getting a bit Angsty here, and I'm always a bit scared of that corner of FF (though I can't write a fic without it...) because I'm kinda in love with fluffy things... But anyways, it will be HIGHLY appreciated if you would leave a review after you're done reading.**

**And yes, I could've split this chapter into two different chapters, but there was not a good moment to do so, so I just left it this long. And this way, it's more fun for you, right? :D**

**I lately caught up with Sweeney Todd again. God. That movie is so epic (the 2007 movie from Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp *all hail*, Helena Bonham Carter *all hail*, Sascha Baron Cohen *all hail*, Alan Rickman *all hail*... I can go on with this for hours, so I'll just stop here :D). I'm even scared of how much The Mentalist looks like Sweeney Todd (I can't turn it because Sweeney Todd obviously was there first, and not just the movie :D)... In Sweeney Todd, Sweeney's family is killed, or at least, he thinks so, so he wants to have revenge on the person responsible and gets all creepy and all... *shudders* Sweeney Todd is just the same man as Patrick Jane xD. Anyways, making a AU-fic based on Sweeney Todd is not a very good idea because ST is kinda... dark. (*Spoiler*) Almost everybody dies in the end. You know, I don't want to kill of my favorite characters of all time (read: Jane and Lisbon) just because it was in the script of ST... Anyways, this is boring for you. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. *pout***

* * *

Since when did his life become so complicated?

Rigsby looked at his beautiful young son, now almost one year old. He looked like Sarah in a lot of ways; beautiful green eyes, eyes he could drown in if he just stared at them long enough.

He felt the box burning in his pocket. He shook his head at Benjamin.

"Do you understand that, Ben? One moment, I'm completely happy with you, and your mother, and the other, I get drunk and say that I'll propose to Grace. Whom I broke up with a long while ago and am completely over at the moment."

There was a pause, and Rigsby chuckled. "I know, I'm not completely over Grace, but I'd like to tell myself that I am."

Rigsby sighed. "I'm sorry, kiddo, for telling you this. Promise me that you won't become like me when you're all grown-up. You're too good for that. I'll make you too good for that, I promise."

-YulianaHenderson-

It was nine in the morning, Jane and Rigsby were still not in the bullpen, and Van Pelt was starting to grow worried.

Cho noticed. He always did.

"They're somewhere doing stupid things," he deadpanned, and Van Pelt snorted.

"Aren't they always?"

"More stupid things."

Van Pelt looked at Cho intently, her head slightly tilted. "You're hiding something."

Cho looked up from his screen, and straight into Van Pelt's amber eyes. She really needed to know. Maybe Rigsby and Jane were in danger, they could be bleeding in some deserted alley outside town.

But instead, Cho just nodded and looked at his computer screen again. Van Pelt's eyes widened.

"Hey, you can't do that!"

"I did it. So move on-"

"You can't just confirm that you're hiding something and then not inform me about the rest! I care about them, Cho! I _need_ to know what you're hiding, it could be life threatening and they could be dying now-"

"They're not dying-"

"But you don't _know_!"

"Grace, I know. They got drunk, they yelled that they would propose, Rigsby to you and Jane to Lisbon. That's all. They're not in-"

"That's all?! Oh my god!" Van Pelt exclaimed, jumping up. She hit her knee against the bottom of her desk, causing her to curse because of the pain.

Cho chose the opportunity to get up and walk to the restrooms. Van Pelt wanted to stop him, but was too late.

Rigsby wanted to _propose_ to her? And Jane to Lisbon?

Well, she had to admit that the last one wasn't that much of neither a surprise nor a problem, they would be fine eventually. If only Jane and Lisbon knew how many people already suspected them to make passionate love in Lisbon's apartment.

But she and Rigsby? Na-ah. He had a family now. They could impossible be together, even though...

Even though she wanted that.

And now the problem was that she couldn't confront Rigsby about it because he needed to tell her himself. She couldn't tell him that she half tortured the truth out of Cho. No one could know, to be honest. For both hers and Cho's reputation.

And especially Lisbon couldn't know about Jane.

Because Lisbon was already on the edge of having a mental breakdown. This would be the last push over the edge.

-YulianaHenderson-

Lisbon shot a quick look at Jane's still form on her couch, just to make sure he was still breathing. He seemed to be sleeping, but he wasn't dead, thank god.

Seemed, of course, because Lisbon knew he wasn't sleeping. But she saw him breathing and that was the most important thing for now.

"So, Lisbon, what do you think about this case?" Jane asked, startling her. Jane opened his eyes and looked at her. He seemed to be determined and she wanted to know for what, but she couldn't quite figure that one out yet.

Lisbon also couldn't miss the fumbling at the wedding band Jane's hands were performing.

"Peter was an interesting person, wasn't he?" Jane asked. She was expecting him to wait for an answer, but apparently, that wasn't completely what he was looking for now. She knew he was fishing for a response and she wasn't going to play along.

"Care to elaborate? Because I have the feeling you know more than I do." Damn her, she could never deny him.

Jane smiled. "Well, I'm highly flattered, dear Lisbon. I know as much as you do."

"Which is...?"

"Peter was having an affair."

Lisbon's eyes widened. Yep, Jane was one step ahead of her, like always. "How did you figure that out?"

"He was married to Chandra, but he wasn't wearing a wedding band when we were at the crime scene. My guess: he was visiting his secret lover."

Lisbon frowned, and Jane sat up straight. "Okay... Is that it? I would've expected more-"

"Peter and Chandra were the bantering type of couple. They spent more time on teasing each other than really being intimate. Chandra was obviously wearing the breeches in their relationship, always bossing around and picking on Peter. Which he was perfectly fine with, because he loved her. But when Chandra found out about his alleged affair, instead of being angry, she was disappointed and started ignoring him. It tore poor Peter apart, because he didn't want Chandra to be like that with him. I know what you're thinking, Lisbon. 'He shouldn't have started that affair in the first'. Truth was that Peter didn't have an option. It was a means to an end, and if he could've done it differently, he would've done that. It's sad, right? One evil woman enters such a perfect relationship and destroys it from the inside out. Do you think Chandra would've given him a second chance if she knew the circumstances?"

Lisbon stared at him. They both knew he wasn't talking about Peter and Chandra anymore. She swallowed.

"If he had a damn good apologize, maybe."

Lisbon saw a slight twinkling in Jane's eyes, and she knew he was thrilled that she played along with him.

"I'm sorry, Lisbon. For Las Vegas. I know that's your top issue at the moment."

There it was, the truth. It slammed into her as if she walked into a wall, but unexpected. She hadn't seen the wall, maybe her eyes were closed while she walked.

Lisbon swallowed again, but the lump in her throat could not be swallowed away, not even by a pool of saliva.

"Do you think Chandra would like going out for dinner?" Jane asked, changing the subject again. That man was going to die one day. Not today, though.

"Yeah, I think she would like that, yes."

"Great, I'll pick you up at eight," Jane said, jumped up and ran out of Lisbon's office, leaving no room for discussion.

And now, Lisbon was panicking. She didn't want to go to dinner with Jane. Well, okay, she _did_ want to, but she wasn't ready for that yet. That something that was bothering Jane was still there, and as long as it wasn't out in the open yet, she didn't know how to behave properly around him.

She looked at Jane skipping into the bullpen and falling onto his couch.

Whatever it was that Jane was hiding from her, it most certainly was going to destroy their friendship. And that was the one thing she craved now – his friendship.

-YulianaHenderson-

Jane closed his eyes and let a small smile appear on his face.

That tiny spark of victory, of satisfaction, was a feeling he had to cherish now. He knew that, from now on, his relationship with Lisbon was going to be completely different than it already was. Not that their friendship qualified as a normal one in the first place.

Whatever happened tonight, he was sure of that one thing: Lisbon was not going to be simply his boss anymore.

He knocked on Lisbon's front door, and smiled when it took a while for her to open it. _Yeah, take your time, Teresa Lisbon, you can't avoid me forever._

When Lisbon opened the door, though, his jaw almost hit the ground.

There she was, Teresa Lisbon, dressed in a bright yellow dress. It was a simple one, it was obviously the only suitable dress Lisbon had in her closet, but she looked magnificent.

"Wow..." Jane breathed, for a second forgetting what his plan was, but soon recovered. "You look beautiful."

Lisbon, now highly self-conscious, was definitely regretting even playing along with Jane. If he was going to stare at her the entire night, this was a no go. She had to talk with him, and if the only way of doing so was to go along and have dinner, then she would comply. But him staring at her chest was not talking.

Lisbon was about to close the door and spend the night alone, but Jane put his foot between the door and the wall.

"Don't do that," Jane whispered. Lisbon swallowed, and looked into Jane's eyes. "You didn't need to dress up for me."

"Jane..." Lisbon whispered.

"We don't have to talk now, Teresa-"

"Actually, we do," Lisbon interrupted him, and startled Jane. "We do, Jane. Ever since you arrived at work with a hangover, you've been acting strange around me and I want to know what you're hiding."

"I can't tell you-"

"We're partners, partners don't keep secrets from each other."

"C'mon, Lisbon, I'm not keeping anything from you-"

"A few moments ago you called me Teresa. Now I'm Lisbon all of a sudden again? That's a bit strange, don't you think?"

Jane sighed, and guided Lisbon back into her apartment, shutting the door behind him. He wasn't going to have this conversation on the walk-way of Lisbon's apartment.

"Look, Teresa, I care about you. I really do. You're like my little sister."

No matter what Lisbon thought of their feelings, this was a slap into her face. This was even worse than that slap in her office that afternoon. She felt tears burning in her eyes, and she felt awash with emotions. This was too much. She had to get away now before she would break down and sob her all out – and no one was allowed to see that happening.

She wanted to turn around, wanted to avoid Jane's intense stare, but Jane prevented her from doing so.

"Don't turn away, Teresa. I know what you're feeling right now. Truth is: I've never had a sister. I don't know how to react with little sisters. Do... Do siblings do this?" Jane asked, and leaned down and kissed her. Lisbon gasped, but Jane swallowed it by softly pushing his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance. For a second, Lisbon thought about just giving in, just drown in Jane's arms and never leave, but she couldn't.

She gently pushed Jane away. "No."

"No, don't say no now, Teresa, please-"

"You can't do this, Jane. _We_ can't do this. Be realistic for once, and look at the situation from another angle. How would this look like for Red John-"

"Don't start about him now!"

"I have to, Jane! He's still there-"

"And that's what prevents me from doing this," Jane said, stepped closer to Lisbon to claim her lips into another kiss, but she stepped backwards once again.

"Go away," Lisbon whispered.

"We still have dinner-"

"Maybe I don't want to have dinner with you anymore," Lisbon said.

"What, are going to starve yourself to death?"`

"Don't be a jerk. Just go away," Lisbon hissed and stormed up the stairs.

Jane was left alone in her living room, feeling defeated.

-YulianaHenderson-

Jane was standing in front of Lisbon's bedroom door, quietly listening to Lisbon's soft groans of pure frustration. She couldn't get to sleep.

And Jane just couldn't go away now. Not when they were about to leave for dinner and he had lost himself, kissed her, and Lisbon now moving away from him. He couldn't leave her alone. He cared too much about her.

He knew he had pushed it too much. Pushed it over the dangerous edge. His whole plan of subtly trying to win Lisbon's heart – which he had come up with this morning and was pretty proud of – was blown away by _his_ stupid heart. Why was he so head over heels in love with his boss?

"Lisbon?"

"Go away, Jane," Lisbon said, but Jane had to focus to hear it. His heart broke. He had definitely pushed it. Time to make a new plan – a plan that did not include him losing control and kissing her.

He pushed open the door and was not at all surprised to see Lisbon on her bed, still in her dress, and her face buried in her pillow. Her current state was so un-Lisbon-like that it made him want to kill himself in the most cruel way he could think of.

Jane swallowed, walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. When Jane moved one of his hand to Lisbon's shoulder, though, she flinched away from him.

"Why would you change our friendship, Jane? Why _now_? Now that I need your friendship more than anything?"

"I..." Jane stopped. There was no explanation for this. He was being selfish.

"I won't leave you, Teresa-"

"How do you know? You said that before, and you left. How can I know that you won't leave me now?" Lisbon asked, as she looked up at him.

"Because I just know," Jane said, and watched her reaction as he gently scooted closer on the bed, laying down next to her.

"Look, Teresa, I know that a lot of things are bothering you. And I feel sorry for putting them in your head. But you have to know that nothing I did in Las Vegas was not to torture you. I've got a selfish soul, I did not for one second think of the consequences on my actions. I didn't think of how much I could hurt you."

Lisbon flinched away from him once again when Jane moved closer to her, but Jane wouldn't have any of it. He only moved closer to her quicker, trapping her in his arms. Even though he had expected her to protest, he wasn't surprised when she immediately relaxed in his arms.

"Why?" Lisbon whispered, and Jane placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Sleep now, Teresa. I've got you," Jane whispered in reply.

Despite what Lisbon had told herself, she couldn't help but suddenly feel save in Jane's arms. Her life had turned upside down ever since Jane had left for Las Vegas, and she didn't have the feeling that it could be fixed again but now that she was in his arms, she felt strong and happy. She let the feeling flow within her for a few minutes, then she fell asleep.

-YulianaHenderson-

He couldn't propose to her now. Not like this. She still had a lot of frustration inside her, and he couldn't blame her, obviously.

He looked behind him and saw Lisbon was, seemingly, peacefully asleep.

He walked downstairs, opened the front door and let the cool breeze touch his face, calming down the raging storm inside of him. It was more like a turmoil, an inner fight between 'proposal' and 'not proposal' – and he wasn't sure which alliance was winning.

When Jane was drunk, it seemed to be easier to make difficult decisions. Maybe he had to get drunk again?

No, that was a terrible idea. He wouldn't know what he'd done the next morning.

He soon felt a hand on his arm, and he turned around.

"I'm sorry Jane," Lisbon whispered. Jane shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Lisbon. It was all my fault. I thought... I thought that we could go there, that we were ready, but apparently, we weren't."

Lisbon sighed. "_You_ are ready, I'm not. And that has nothing to do with you. I love you, Jane. I just need your friendship more than your love – romantic love, that is."

Jane nodded, looking understanding, while on the inside, he was dying. She saw him as just a friend. Nothing could hurt more than that, he was sure of it.

-YulianaHenderson-

Of course Jane was wrong. Which was the biggest shock of the century.

Lisbon had been ignoring him the entire day.

Since Jane had intended to pick Lisbon up for dinner, he'd come with his own car, and that meant that they could go to work in separate cars, giving Lisbon more space to pull back and avoid him.

After their little chat, Lisbon had gone to bed and Jane had been wandering in her living room a little longer, before deciding that what he didn't want to happen would eventually happen if he stayed there – Lisbon completely ignoring him in the morning – so he'd went home. Well, a motel.

And now, it was almost the end of the day and they still hadn't talked once. And _that_ hurt.

Maybe Jane just had to live with the fact that Lisbon would ignore him forever. That she saw him as nothing more than a mere older brother – which, obviously, was his very own fault since _he_ had planted the thought of them being siblings into her head.

He looked over at Lisbon's office, and was quick enough to spot Lisbon averting her eyes.

So perhaps there was still some hope.

-YulianaHenderson-

"I need to talk to you," Jane said to Rigsby, already walking to the attic. Rigsby frowned, but followed.

When they were upstairs, Jane let out a long sigh before explaining everything with three simple words.

"I kissed Lisbon."

Rigsby's eyes went wide. "You did _what_?"

"I kissed Lisbon-"

"I heard you the first time."

"Then don't ask it another time."

Rigsby sighed, and ran a hand through his short hair. "And... did she... you know... kiss you back?"

Jane shook his head.

"Well, nothing's lost. Did she push you away or something?"

Jane simply nodded.

"Okay, maybe there's more lost then... And why do you tell me this?"

"I thought that you might know what to do. You seem to be having trouble with Sarah as well, so you must know what to do-"

"I don't have problems with Sarah!"

"Deniability-"

"Look, I know that you're having a hard time, but I'm having a tough time as well. You can't just pull me into your attic and tell me that I'm having issues with Sarah like it doesn't mean anything. I love Sarah, she's everything to me, and I'm not going to let you destroy that. I care about Van Pelt too but I'm not going to play on my feelings for her, because that will cause all three of us and Benjamin to be hurt. I have no idea what you should do now, I'm not some sort of agony aunt. You're stupid and in denial yourself, and so is Lisbon. Just grow a pair and tell her exactly what you feel for her. You're not a child anymore, Jane, you're perfectly capable of taking care of your love life. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and save my own," Rigsby said, and quickly walked out of the room.

Jane was frozen. Rigsby was never this direct.

But Rigsby was right though. Jane was acting foolish. No matter how much steps backwards Lisbon took, away from him, he just had to force himself up on her, take one step forward just as she stepped backwards. He had to act like a grown man and tell Lisbon how he felt about her. That seemed to be the only way to save _them_.

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**A/N: Yeah, so... I know, Lisbon is kinda OOC, but, you know, she has all this tension because of Lorelei, and the rivalry between CBI/FBI, and Mancini, and then Jane as well... I could totally imagine her being like this at home when she's alone. I'm sorry, Lisbon, no offense. **

**Anyways, as I said, I'm very unsure about this chapter... And this is genuinely not a way to get more reviews. I mean, this is, afaik (which is an abbreviation for 'as far as I know', for the people who don't know...), my most popular story ever, and I have this flaw that I'm kinda worried about what people think, and I'm afraid to let people down... or to disappoint them, for that matter... You can also PM me if your review is too negative (which I can completely understand), but just let me know what you think because I'm becoming pretty insecure here :D.**


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N: Not really feeling all so creative now, just spent the ****_entire_**** day in Amsterdam doing funny things at school but that takes a lot of energy, ugh. Feeling exhausted and drained now...**

**After seeing 5x04, I just _had_ to do something with Rigsby/Sarah/Benjamin. Don't you think? Just read on. I thought it was rather creative to create a path for Rigspelt ;).**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. *pout* Would be pretty cool if I did, though, right?**

* * *

"Sarah, you don't understand-"

"Ah, so now it's _my_ fault. Oh, that's just great, Wayne, thank you so much," Sarah snapped at Rigsby, sarcasm dripping from every word in the last sentence. Rigsby swallowed.

Sarah pulled little Benjamin closer to her body. "I have no idea _why_ you even _thought_ about proposing to her! You've got us now, don't you? Or aren't we good enough for you?"

"Of course you are-"

"Then why do you want to propose to Grace?"  
"I don't want to propose to her, dammit!" Rigsby exclaimed, causing Benjamin to cry. Sarah shot him a death glare, and turned around to hush sweet nothings into Benjamin's ear.

"Sarah, I-"

"I don't want to hear a thing about it, Wayne. I don't know why you would leave us, but if you want to, you have all right. So choose: me and Ben, or Grace."

"You know I can't choose-"

"But I'm making you choose. Now, Wayne. Me or Grace."

Rigsby looked at Benjamin, who still had tears in the corners of his eyes from his scare. Rigsby's heart broke. He couldn't leave Benjamin. He couldn't become like his father, Rigsby had to be there for Benjamin.

"What about Ben?" Rigsby tried. Sarah sighed, and he knew she didn't have an answer to that. She looked at Benjamin. And he also knew that she knew he wasn't going to choose for her.

Sarah sighed again. "You take him, you need him more."

"But you're-"

"Yes, I'm his mother, and I'll always be his mother. But I also have my career, and it sounds cruel but that means more to me," she said, and then lowered her head to place a brief kiss on the top of his head. "I love you, Benji, but daddy loves you more," Sarah whispered. Rigsby shook his head.  
"Don't argue with me, Wayne. I understand you."

Rigsby swallowed. "I don't want to lose you, Sarah-"

"Ben deserves good parents, who love him and each other. You know we're not these parents, and we'll never be them. Don't try to make us these parents. I care about you, and about Ben. I want you both to be happy."

Rigsby approached Sarah, and brushed her cheek.

"But..."

"I know, Wayne. This is for the best," she whispered. Rigsby placed a kiss on her lips, and Sarah's breath caught in her throat.

"I'm gonna save your phone number, so we can call each other whenever we want to," Sarah whispered. Rigsby nodded.  
"I still love you, Sarah."

"I know," she replied, her voice breaking. The tears she had been suppressing fell from her eyes then, and Rigsby joined her.

In between the two of them, Benjamin was chuckling and pulling on Sarah's hair.

-YulianaHenderson-

"I love you, Teresa," Jane said.

He rolled his eyes. He didn't look like Lisbon at all. A mirror does not reply, this was just stupid. It didn't make sense.

He sighed, and turned around. He had been practicing telling Lisbon for the past three hours, and it was not helping his nerves at all. There had to be a way to tell her, right?

He walked out of the bathroom, into the living room.

He also had to stop staying in crappy motels. This was not helping for his insomnia, he was sure of it. He had slept more hours with Lisbon in his arms than he had in the past seven years.

Perhaps that was the problem. He was used to having Lisbon around him, even it was only at work. It gave him a safe feeling, knowing that _if_ something would happen, his fire-cracker would be there to save him. Like he was the damsel-in-distress and she was the knight.

Jane chuckled. He thought all unreasonable things about his Lisbon.

He froze. The reality hit him harder than he would have thought: she was _his_ Lisbon. He had never been a man who cared about a lot of furniture, fashion or money in general. He was happy with happiness. And he hadn't realized that Lisbon was the only thing – _person_ – he wanted to be his.

All the flirters around her had annoyed the crap out of Jane. Didn't they see that Lisbon was _his_? He had to buy her a sign for on her forehead which said 'Property of Patrick Jane'.

But Jane also knew that if Mancini – he felt a shudder running over his spine, he hated that man – made a move on Lisbon, she would be happy to comply. Even if it was only for one night – but Jane knew that she would not be entirely too happy with just a one-night-stand. She wasn't a player, she needed to care, or rather _love_ people, in order to have sex with them. Jane knew that – how, he didn't know. He just had a hunch – and he had to admit, most of his 'hunches' were true at the end, so this had to be true as well.

Jane sighed. He had never figured that his Lisbon was so complicated. She seemed so easy on the outside – but then again, that was probably one of her beauties: she wasn't like any other woman he'd ever met.

He fumbled with his wedding band, and a warm feeling spread inside him.

He had to tell Lisbon, or else he would go mad.

-YulianaHenderson-

Van Pelt groaned as her computer once again was stuck. She hated that stupid thing, it never worked as she wanted it to work.

"G'morning," Rigsby said as he entered the bullpen, and Van Pelt looked up, ready to smile her pretty smile when she saw huge banks under Rigsby's eyes. Her smile dropped.

"What happened?"

Rigsby looked at Van Pelt, then shook his head and sat down behind him. When Van Pelt could take a good look at him again, she gasped. There were obvious tears in the man's eyes.

"What happened?" she asked again, this time a bit more intently. She was determined to find out – she hated the fact that her colleagues were keeping secrets from her. She didn't keep secrets from them either, did she?  
Rigsby shook his head.  
"It's nothing, don't worry about it-"

"It's not nothing, Wayne! Something is wrong! And I will find out eventually what you're hiding from me, so spare me the waste of time and cut to the chase, now."

Rigsby sighed.

"Sarah and I broke up."

Van Pelt gasped. "_What_? But what about Ben?"

"He will live with me-"

"But Ben has to have a mother!"

"Would you stop now, please, Grace? It's hard enough already. I don't want to end up like my dad, you understand that, don't you? My dad was never there for me, when he should've been. I wanted to give my kid a good and respectful childhood, but that's not going to work out so well now, or is it? He only has a father now-"

"Sarah is not dead-"

"But she _did_ leave me. So she won't be there every time I might need her. I know I can call her, but it's just not the same, Grace. Now would you please just let it rest? I will talk about it eventually, trust me. Just give me some space."

Van Pelt let out an almost frustrated sigh, shook her head and returned to her desk.

Rigsby looked up at the ceiling, and then felt something snap inside him.

"You know what, there is something wrong. I can't raise Benjamin all on my own, not with my job. I've got Tina but she has a family as well. I... I don't want Benjamin to... to be lonely... like I was," Rigsby said, the last few words on a whisper, and Van Pelt ran over to him, pulled him up from his chair and into her arms. Rigsby startled, but then pulled Van Pelt closer and ran a hand through her auburn hair.

"You're gonna do just fine-"

"Will you help me, Grace?"

Van Pelt startled, and was about to pull away when Rigsby pulled her once again closer to him, almost suffocating.

What had happened in these three minutes since he'd walked into the bullpen? One moment, she was just a concerned friend, and what was she now? She didn't know anymore.  
"I... I..."

"You're the only person I trust, Grace," Rigsby whispered.

"What is going on here?" they heard Cho saying behind them. Van Pelt frantically pushed Rigsby away from her, and stumbled to her desk.

"Nothing," Van Pelt said, too quickly, and slapped herself internally. Cho raised his eyebrows, just slightly, before he waved it off and sat down behind his desk.

Van Pelt immediately began frantically typing things on her computer.

When Rigsby opened his mailbox, a wave of relief flowed over him.

_We'll talk about it later. I don't hate you, I just have to think about this for longer than just a few seconds. I will come to your house after work._

_This is something big and I admire that you come to me, but I hope you understand that I can't just say yes something so important. xVP_

-YulianaHenderson-

Jane was such a procrastinator – or maybe he was just afraid. He wasn't sure.

He looked over at Lisbon's office, and sighed.

There goes nothing.

He jumped up from his couch, and just when he was about to enter Lisbon's office, his heart plummeted. Lisbon was on the phone with somebody, and the feeling in his stomach didn't really help with what he knew was about to follow – somehow, he had to have seen this coming.

He couldn't help but feeling like shit, though. It hurt so much that the feeling was almost... alien to him.

Lisbon was too caught up in the conversation to see him standing outside her office, so Jane just took the opportunity to listen to the conversation. He'd had enough after the first thing he heard, accompanied with Lisbon's big smile.

"Uhm... Yeah, sure Gabe, I'll be on my way to you."

* * *

**A/N: I know, short and stupid. But let me know what you think anyways, just so that I get some strength to write a new chapter. Or maybe a tag to 5x04. I don't know. We'll see :D. Leave a REVIEW, pretty please!**


	6. Chapter Six

**A/N: When I started writing this chapter, there was only one review and I was like: 'Don't take it personally, Dominique, just don't take it personally. People still love your stories, they are just too lazy to review. Don't be unsure about your story, you're doing fine.' So, thanks guys, for causing me to act like that for two days :P.**

**Anyways: Thanks for the reviews! :D**

**And we're getting closer to a happy ending! Don't know how it will end yet (no, how can this end? I've got no clue *sarcasm*), but if you finish this chapter, you'll kinda know in which direction I'm heading :D. (One Direction, lol)**

**I know it's kinda short, but you should already be happy that I updated :P.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. *pout* The pout doesn't work. *bigger pout***

* * *

It felt as though the ground underneath Jane's feet was tearing apart, the earth sucking him into her boiling core.

He had to fight the urge to collapse there and cry his all out.

He was too late. He had missed his chance. Lisbon was gone now.

He turned around so quickly that he almost tripped over his own feet, then ran to the attic.

-YulianaHenderson-

Van Pelt knocked on the door, not quite being able to get rid of the nervous feeling inside her. This was big – no, big was still an understatement.

But she'd be damned if she didn't want it. She just wanted to find the right words to tell Rigsby so. He did have to understand that he couldn't just ask her these things.

Rigsby opened with a slight smile, but his smile increased when he saw her.

And there were the butterflies in her stomach again.

"Grace, come in-"  
"I'll do it," she said, suddenly, and Rigsby's eyes widened.

"What?"  
"I'll help you, with raising Ben," Van Pelt said, and a twinkling appeared in Rigsby's eyes, if his murderous smile wasn't any indication already.

"Really?"

Van Pelt nodded. "And... And I want to give, us... a chance again. But we first have to discuss it with Lisbon. And if it doesn't work out between us, or Ben doesn't like me, then we'll stop it immediately. And I will ask Lisbon to be transferred to another team. I can't stand behaving like we did after the last time we broke up."

Rigsby pulled her inside, and closed the door by pushing her against it. He pressed his body against hers.

"We'll try, on one condition," Van Pelt said when Rigsby moved in to link their lips. Rigsby nodded.

"Which is?"  
"No awkwardness. No secrets. Not for each other, but also not for the rest of the team. I don't want to lie to them. They're the only family I have," Van Pelt said, and Rigsby nodded again.

"I love you, Grace," Rigsby whispered, before he lowered his head and nuzzled the skin in her neck.

-YulianaHenderson-

The bullpen was eerily quiet.

Lisbon was gone, probably out with Mancini or something. She didn't say much about it, Cho had only heard 'Gabe', so he just assumed it was Mancini she was going to.

Jane had fled to his attic, though Cho couldn't comprehend why. Maybe he'd heard that phone conversation Lisbon had had in her office, and was now too much of a coward to tell Lisbon what he thought about her dating other men. He really was a pussy.

Rigsby and Van Pelt were both gone as well, and Cho knew for sure that the two were together. It hadn't been a surprise when he'd seen them hugging in the bullpen when he had arrived at work that morning. It was destined for them to be together, and now that Rigsby and Sarah had broke up and Van Pelt was strong enough to stand up for both of them, there was nothing that could stop them. Maybe themselves, but that could be fixed in the end.

Since when was Cho on the most romantic-incompetent team in the entire state?

-YulianaHenderson-

Jane sat in the window sill of his attic, his face pressed against the cool window, and he was crying.

He did feel like a girl now, but it just hurt so much.

He had thought that Mancini wasn't a threat. Lisbon hadn't been interested in him, or that was what Jane had read when he'd talked to her.

His ringtone sounded, but he wasn't interested. He just wanted to drown in his own misery, escape this evil world and be with Angela and Charlotte. His phone stopped, and he let out a sigh of relief, before it rang again.

Whoever this was, it had to be urgent.

He groaned and got up, picking up his phone. He froze when he saw the caller ID. He shook his head – he didn't want to talk to her.

He threw away his phone, waiting for it to stop again, but once it stopped, it immediately rang again. Jane sobbed, and put his face in his hands.

He knew Lisbon was going to continue calling him until he answered it. He knew that she knew that if he ignored her calls, she knew that something was wrong with him. And after the last couple of days, she'd only been more worried about him so she had to continue to discover the truth. Not that he'd actually witnessed that, since Lisbon still skillfully avoided him.

With the sixth try, Jane knew that ignoring her wouldn't help anymore, so he picked the damned thing up again and answered it.

"What?" he snapped, and he already regretted being so snappy, but Lisbon was gone now and there was no possibility for him to get her anymore.

"Why did you ignore my calls?" Lisbon asked, her tone of voice firm and bossy – but Jane swore he could hear a tiny bit of hurt in the mix there.

"I shouldn't talk to you, but you're making the wrong choices, Lisbon. Mancini is not the man for you, he doesn't care about you, he only wants to find his own pleasure and release. And having a beautiful woman to get there doesn't hurt, that's just a bonus. Don't go there, you deserve so much more. But if you don't want to hear my advice, then by all means, go and have a great time with Mancini. I know your plans. You haven't had sex with a man in a long time, and he is the only one who could give it to you. Go on, I won't stop you. Or is that why you're calling me? To rub it in my face? Why, thank you Lisbon, but it's not working. I blocked out my feelings for you a long time ago, it doesn't affect me anymore. Now go," he said, and almost hung up, if Lisbon hadn't been so quiet at the other end of the conversation.  
"Wait... You think that I'm seeing Mancini?"

"Yeah, he called you when you were in the office-"  
"That wasn't Mancini!" she protested, and Jane froze.

"Excuse me?"  
"Jane, that was Gabriella, my best friend from High School. We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and we decided to meet up to chat a bit. I can't believe it, Jane. You're jealous? Oh god, I can't believe it. You've got no reason to be jealous, if I were seeing Mancini, that is. But just because you're not ready for a full relationship means that _I_ can't have one either? So I should just wait for a decade more for you to _finally_ understand your feelings. That's great, thank you so freaking much, Jane. You're a cold-hearted jerk, you know that? I don't even know why I trusted you so much," Lisbon snapped.

"I didn't say that-"

"No, you didn't, but you did mean it. Screw you, Jane," Lisbon once more snapped, and ended the conversation.

Jane stood frozen to the floor. It seemed he had destroyed his last chance at being with Lisbon, without him realizing.

He lifted his hand and destroyed a window, the glass breaking apart in a million pieces. Just like his heart.

-YulianaHenderson-

"Ah, Jane, you're here. Have you seen Lisbon?" Van Pelt asked as soon as Jane entered the bullpen. Jane didn't look at her, just continued walking to his couch and laying down.

Van Pelt frowned, but grew instantly worried when she saw Jane's glassy gaze.

"Are you okay, Jane?" Van Pelt asked. Jane didn't reply, and Van Pelt immediately exchanged looks with Rigsby and Cho.

"Jane?" Van Pelt tried again. Then, she saw Jane's hand, and gasped.  
"Okay, you're going to the hospital, _now_," she ordered, and picked up her car keys, but Jane shook his head.

"I'm fine, Grace," Jane murmured, and stared at the Elvis spot on the ceiling.

"I'm gonna call Lisbon," Grace said to the boys, and once again, Jane stopped her by merely shaking his head.

"She's with a friend," Jane said, and Van Pelt frowned.  
"Jane, talk to me. How did you injure your hand?"

"I hit a window in the attic."

"Why?"

"Because Lisbon doesn't want me anymore."

"Of course she does-"

"No, Grace, she doesn't. I'm sure she's with Mancini now, just to pester me."

"Then call her-"

"I can't call her, she won't even answer it."

"So you _want_ to call her?"

Jane tore his gaze away from Elvis and looked at Van Pelt.

"Of course. But it's of no use to call her if she's not going to answer it."

Van Pelt sighed, and reached into Jane's jacket pocket to take his phone out. She pressed 1 on the speed dial, knowing Jane and Lisbon far too well, and passed the phone on to Jane.

"Apologize," she ordered, and sat down on the chair closest to Jane's couch.

Jane stared at his phone, but then put it against his ear.

"Mancini," the man answered at the other end, and Jane shot up.

"This is Lisbon's phone," Jane said simply, and there was a short pause at the other end.  
"Oh, hey Jane. You don't need to check on Teresa, she's fine-"

"Why are you answering for her?"  
"Because she's... busy, at the moment."

"What are you doing to her?"  
"Nothing. You could better ask what she's doing to me," Mancini said, and Jane frowned. Then, he realized what was happening.

Lisbon really did go to have sex with Mancini to pester Jane.

"Be good to her, Gabe," Jane said simply, and there was a short pause again, before he heard the rustling of a phone being passed on to somebody else, and his heart started pounding frantically in his chest.  
"What do you want, Jane? Stop me from being happy again?" Lisbon asked, and Jane swallowed.

"No. I wanted to apologize."

"Why?"  
"Because I'm a jerk. And I don't deserve you. But I _want_ you. Please, could you come to the office now? I don't want to be having this conversation over the phone," Jane said.

"And what do you want me to say now? 'Yes Jane, of course Jane'?"

"Something like that."  
Lisbon sighed, apparently admitting defeat. "You're unbelievable. I'm on my way."

Jane lowered his phone as soon as Lisbon hung up, and looked at Van Pelt.

"She's coming," Jane said, and Van Pelt let out a sigh of relief. How much she wanted these two to just behave like all other people for once.

Van Pelt returned to her desk again, and Jane put his phone back in his jacket pocket. Not the one with the red velvet box.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I'm really coming close to an ending here already. I thought that this story would be longer, but I just can't seem to write stories that have 43 chapters. That's why I'll never write a book :D. **

**You noticed that when Jane talked about Mancini and how he wasn't the right man for Lisbon, he said 'having a beautiful woman beside him'? Honestly, I think that's an opinion, not a fact (not that I think that Robin isn't absolutely, stunningly beautiful), so we're getting there people! (if the ending wasn't any indication already :D)**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :D**


	7. Chapter Seven

**A/N: I just closed my eyes and starting typing away. This is what I came up with, hope you like it!**

**I should've written another chapter for 'It started with a kiss', but since this is the last chapter for this story, I thought I'd first finish this one and then go on to my favorite story! :D (I love this story as well!)**

**I'm feeling exhausted. Having to speak Dutch ****_and_**** English is stupid. My Dutch fucking sucks now. Ugh.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.**

* * *

Jane was sitting on the stairs leading to his attic, and he was watching the elevator.

He really couldn't believe that he had seemingly won so fast. It only took him one minute to take Lisbon away from Mancini. Either Lisbon felt the same for Jane as he did for her, or Mancini was really that boring and she was already over the bastard.

A ping came, and Jane jumped up again. When he saw there was still no Lisbon, he sighed and sat down again. The people exiting the elevator stared at him, before realizing that this was Patrick Jane and that this was probably still normal behavior for him.

He was ready. He hadn't realized that before he'd walked into the bullpen, but hearing Mancini answering Lisbon's phone instead of the woman herself had shattered his heart even more. He thought in that second that he'd lost her once again, or even more, depends on how he looked at it.

He brushed the box through the fabric of his jacket, and took in a deep, nervous breath.

He just hoped that this was all going to end well. He couldn't stand it if Lisbon was angry at him, but he most certainly couldn't stand it if she didn't speak at all.

The ping came again, and Jane jumped up. Nope, no Lisbon.

He wondered whether this was the right move. Now, right after a fight. But he figured that waiting for the perfect moment would eventually result in Lisbon running off with guys like Mancini. He may be selfish, but he didn't want to share his precious Lisbon.

After almost forty minutes, Jane's heart dropped. Either something had happened to Lisbon, or Mancini was doing some horrible things to her – depends on what you define as horrible, considering the two were about the have sex, as it seemed. Or Lisbon was pestering Jane once again and only told him that she was on her way to give him hopes and then eventually crush them again when telling Jane that she was engaged to Mancini – or worse, pregnant. An engagement could be stopped, a pregnancy, if too late, couldn't be halted. (And knowing Lisbon, she wouldn't get an abortion anyways.)

Jane shivered. He had to talk to her, now.

"Jane?" Van Pelt asked, startling him, and he got up to face her.

"I thought you said Lisbon was coming-"  
"Yes, I did. Because that is what she told me. I'm going to her apartment, something has happened-"  
"Nothing has happened, Jane," Van Pelt sighed, and Jane frowned.

"What do you mean?"  
Van Pelt sighed again, grabbed Jane's wrist and pulled him back into the bullpen. She pushed him down on his couch and sat down beside him.

"Lisbon has been my best friend for a long time now, and I hope you know that. Lisbon doesn't always share her feelings about certain things, not even to me, but when she does, then it's really bothering her. She told me that she's in love with you. Don't look so surprised, Jane, you knew it as well. Ever since she found out, she's careful around you. She knows that you're still... in love with Angela, and honestly, nobody can blame you. But Lisbon knows it, and she distances herself from you, because trying to be around you will only cause her to do stupid things. Like going to Mancini. She wants you to like her, no matter what, but she doesn't want to hurt you or force herself up on you. I'm saying this as an objective person: you are both completely and utterly stupid. And whatever the hell you're gonna do with that ring in your pocket, it better be good. Because she's been waiting for this for almost a decade, and if you screw up, she'll be crushed. She's running out of time – and I'm not only talking about her biological clock. Which, by the way, definitely went off as well. Lisbon sacrifices her life for others, which is sweet but she doesn't think about herself. She won't last any longer if she goes on at this rate. She hasn't slept for days and she keeps on putting off eating as well. Don't tell me you didn't see it, Jane."

"Who do you think you are-"  
"I'm someone who cares about you. Both of you. Nothing happened to Lisbon, she's just afraid that she'll hurt you by coming here. You were pretty much approaching personal territory when you talked to her on the phone. If I was her, I would've reacted exactly the same."

Jane stared at Van Pelt. Since when was she an expert on these kind of things?  
"I know what you're thinking now, Jane. You think you ruined your last shot at being with her. But that's not true. There's still hope. Yes, the possibility is great that she'll punch you in the nose, but that's something you would accept, right?"  
Jane rolled his eyes.  
"Don't roll your eyes at me. Go to her apartment-"  
"She's at Mancini's-"  
"She isn't. I'm pretty sure she had quick sex with Mancini, then was either disappointed because it was really that bad or felt ashamed, and then went to her apartment to drown herself in her own misery by eating as much chocolate as she can."  
To be fair, not only Jane was startled by Van Pelt's blunt approach, but they all knew she was probably right. Just because Lisbon was their boss did not mean they couldn't think these things of her. It only made Lisbon look like a human being – was that too much to ask for?

"And oh, you didn't get this from me," Van Pelt said, her face deadly serious, before walking back to her desk. Jane ran a hand through his hair.  
"I'm going to her apartment," Jane said simply, and left without leaving any space of discussion for the rest – not that they were going to stop Jane.

-YulianaHenderson-

Secretly, Jane knew that Lisbon wouldn't open for him. She was going to pretend that she wasn't there, but he'd seen her car parked in front of her building.

He knocked on the door again, and let out a sigh of relief when Lisbon finally opened.

"Came to tell me 'told you so'?" Lisbon asked, her voice small, and Jane only then saw that she'd been crying – her eyes were red.

"What did he do?"  
"You were right – again. He didn't care about me. He used me alright," Lisbon snapped, and turned around walking over to her couch. Jane ran over to her and turned her around.  
"What the he-"

"Listen, Teresa. I love you, so, _so_ much, that seeing you possibly walking out on me with Mancini actually physically hurt. And even though _he_ hurt you but won't do so anymore, there are still lots of evil men out there who can hurt you even more. And I don't want to watch you marrying another man, so I have to prevent that from happening," Jane said, and before both of them could realize what he was doing, he knelt down in front of her on one knee, and took both her hands in his, "will you marry me, Teresa?"

Lisbon stared at him, and then suddenly, surprising both of them, started crying. Teresa Lisbon never cried. What had happened to her?

"Oh Jane..." Lisbon whispered, and looked at her hands, that were in his bigger ones. "You don't have to propose to me to prevent me from going out with other men. You could just ask me to stop doing that."

"But I don't have any right to ask that of you. It's your life-"  
"My life stopped being mine when you entered it, Jane."  
"And it shouldn't have been like that. You shouldn't have sacrificed your life like that. I should've been more understanding, I should've been a better friend, I shouldn't have looked at you as a mere best friend or sister because that's not what you were and that's not what you will ever be to me, Teresa. I'm afraid to love, because I'm taunted by Red John and he can come out to kill you, but I can't take the risk of losing you to another man, and especially not Mancini, and most _certainly_ _not _Walter Mashburn. They don't deserve you, and you deserve much more than them. You deserve someone who can love you for who you are, someone that doesn't use you for his own selfish needs-"

"Someone like you," Lisbon interrupted on a whisper, and Jane's breath caught in his throat. Lisbon squeezed his hands, and swallowed to rid her throat of the lump, to no avail.  
"I'm sorry for going to Mancini after you called," Lisbon whispered, and Jane shook his head.

"If you didn't do that, we wouldn't be here now. I should thank him-"

"Why thank him? I haven't replied on your proposal, now did I?"  
Jane smiled faintly, but squeezed her hands.

"Could you answer, please? I'm not exactly the fittest man in the unit and my knee is starting to hurt-"  
"Yes. Yes, I want to marry you, but on one condition."  
Jane's heart exploded out of glee and he almost started crying. He was just in time to stop the tears from spilling, though. He smiled then, realizing that he would do everything to marry the woman in front of him. It was such a stupid thing she would even think that he wouldn't agree with the one condition that stood in between 'colleagues' and 'husband and wife' – the last title made him feel butterflies in his stomach.

"We will make this work. Because if it doesn't work, I'll lose you. And I don't want to lose you," Lisbon said, and Jane smiled. He got up and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry for being selfish, Teresa-"

"And you need to stop doing that. If you weren't so selfish, I wouldn't love you."  
"Now you're just plain mocking me."  
"Get used to it," Lisbon said, and Jane's smile widened.

"I will. I love you, Teresa," Jane whispered, and Lisbon sighed contently.

"I love you too, Patrick." And Jane wasn't sure if it was her saying 'I love you', or saying his first name, but something snapped inside him and he linked their lips. Lisbon gave in immediately, swinging her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Their lips started dueling, and neither of them knew how they ended up on the couch.

-YulianaHenderson-

"Do you think Jane and Lisbon will be happy now?" Rigsby asked as he and Van Pelt entered his apartment. Van Pelt shrugged.

"They're not there yet. There's still something missing in their picture."  
"That being...?"  
Van Pelt looked at him, that 'are you stupid' twinkle in her eyes again.

"A baby, Wayne. Are you stupid?"

Rigsby chuckled. He could read her just like Jane could read Lisbon.

"I personally think that they should be fine now with the two of them. I mean, and I speak from experience, a baby can ruin a perfect relationship."

Van Pelt looked at him, and Rigsby could see that she was internally fighting over her next move because they now entered personal zones and they weren't used to being personal now.

She swallowed, and approached him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket.

"Or it can save another," she whispered, and Rigsby nodded. She went on tip-toe and linked their lips, the kiss immediately becoming wilder until they heard little human sounds coming from the nursery. They pulled away, and looked into each other's eyes.

They hadn't checked whether Benjamin liked Van Pelt yet, and immediate nerves were coursing through their bodies.

They almost ran into the nursery, bowing over the basinet little Benjamin was laying in, and he was staring at them, his eyes wide. Rigsby reached out to pick up the boy, and handed him over to Van Pelt.

Benjamin seemed to be inspecting Van Pelt, taking a strand of her red hair in his tiny hands, before he brushed her cheek and smiled. He then wrapped his arms around Van Pelt's neck.

"He likes you," Rigsby said. Van Pelt walked to Rigsby and placed a kiss on his cheek. Rigsby reached into his pocket, and took out a silver ring. Van Pelt gasped, and immediately shook her head.

Rigsby didn't listen to her, and gave it to Benjamin, who just stared at it.

"Will you give this to Grace, Ben?" Rigsby asked, and the boy looked at his father, before holding the ring under Van Pelt's nose. The woman just looked at Rigsby, and nodded.

"We're a family," she whispered, and Rigsby smiled.

They were a family.

**_Seven months later_**

"Oh god, Jane! Come here!" Lisbon exclaimed from her office. Four heads turned towards her, all of them worried – but Cho maybe less than the rest. Lisbon shook her head, a bit exaggeratingly, just to indicate nothing was wrong with her, and Jane left the bullpen and skipped to Lisbon. He poked his head around the corner, and smiled at her.

"Yes, my apple blossom?"

"Cut it with the nicknames, and explain to me what the hell this is," Lisbon said, throwing something on her desk, and Jane winched slightly.

"Oh, that... Have I told you lately how beautiful you are when you're pregnant-"

"Jane."

"It's nothing, Teresa. It can be fixed, I promise."

Lisbon sighed, and leant back in her chair.

Jane had stopped calling her Lisbon once they were wed. In private life, outside work, she was Teresa Jane, at work, she was still Lisbon. That just avoided any awkward situations. 'Hello, Mr. Koony. I'm Agent Teresa Jane, this is my consultant, Patrick Jane.' She shivered. That was almost the same as getting a big sign on her forehead saying 'Property of Patrick Jane'. And the fact that she was five months pregnant of his child was already enough indication for that.

"I guess I have to believe you for your word then. Just make sure to apologize. I don't want to lose my job because of you."

Jane nodded, making a salute movement to her, before adding, "aye Sir!"

Lisbon rolled her eyes. When they fell into a silence, Jane moved over to her and placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

"How are you feeling?" Jane asked, squatting down next to her and placing his hand on her swollen belly, brushing it through the thin fabric of Lisbon's blouse.

"Tired. Drained, actually. Guess it wasn't a good idea to stay up late."

Jane smiled. "I already told you that, Teresa. It's not good to skip sleeping hours. It's not only about you anymore now."

Lisbon sighed. "I know."

"I don't want our kid to be as sleep deprived as you are."  
"Yeah, like _I_ am the insomniac in our relationship."  
Jane smiled. "Touché. But I'm sleeping again now. It must have something to do with my wife demanding quality time at three in the morning."  
Lisbon rolled her eyes.

Jane suddenly jumped up, startling Lisbon, and he turned her chair around and lifted her up, her belly immediately pressing against his stomach.

"I've got an idea. You go sleep for an hour or so and I'll finish your paperwork. Sounds good?"

Lisbon immediately shook her head. "I can't let you do my paperwork, you're not an age-"

"Hey, I'm married to one. I think I can qualify as a cop-knower now."

Lisbon sighed, and for a second, Jane thought she was going to stump her foot and put on a pout to get what she wanted, before she rolled her eyes and walked over to her couch.

"You won't regret it, Teresa," Jane said, and helped her to the couch.

"I'm pregnant, not incompetent," Lisbon protested, and Jane just rolled his eyes.

"Let me take care of you for once."  
"I let you do that quite a lot. And it surprises me every damn time," Lisbon said, laying down on the couch, and rolled her eyes once more when Jane covered her with the blanket that was placed on the seat.

Jane placed a quick kiss on her lips, before he ran over to Lisbon's desk and sat down.

"Just try not to break anything, okay? I have to pay for things if they're destroyed," Lisbon said, and Jane nodded.  
"Sure thing. Now sleep," he ordered, and Lisbon smiled, closing her eyes and she almost immediately drifted off to sleep.

"Love you, Teresa," Jane whispered, and Lisbon's smile only widened.

LaRoche was going to check her paperwork anyways, since Lisbon's judgment had changed a bit due to pregnancy hormones, so Jane was sure it wasn't that much of a deal if he drew a few (pink and blue - that quite fit since he and Lisbon still had no idea whether to expect a boy or a girl, and honestly, they didn't want to find out yet - not red) smiley faces, hearts and flowers, accompanying on the white paper:

_LaRoche, Rigsby and Van Pelt are planning their wedding for next April. Teresa will let them have their way, you do too? _

_Also: quit ogling my wife's breasts. Just because they grew two cups due to her pregnancy does not mean that everybody should stare at them. Don't think I didn't notice. _

_Oh, and don't get drunk. It's dangerous, especially for you. You might end up happy in the end._

* * *

**A/N: I was definitely tempted to write something along the lines of 'And Jane never got drunk again', but that sounded a bit ****_too_**** corny for my liking. This actually looked like the great ending!**

**Oh, and I'm sorry if you're angry now because I once again turned it into a 'oh yay we love each other let's have kids now' fic, but I felt I just had to do an epilogue, just for my sake. I couldn't close this story properly without doing that.**

**Well, anyways: Wow, so, I hadn't figured that this story would be so... short, but I just couldn't stretch it anymore. I could've included something with Red John kidnapping Lisbon and causing both Jane and Lisbon to suffer from a mental breakdown or something, but I didn't feel like doing that. It would get a bit too Angsty, and I'm actually quite happy now, so I couldn't write dark scenes :D.**

**So! This was it! It's been a pleasure to write this story, it was so great to write about oblivious Jane and Lisbon for once! And I'm also quite content with what I actually wrote about Rigspelt. I'm a Rigspelt shipper as well, but they are kinda off-limits for me, I dunno why. I think I like Jisbon more :D. And I definitely hope something like this happens to Rigsby and Van Pelt, now that Sarah is gone and Ben needs a mother and all... Yeah, fingers crossed!**

**Unless people have ideas for, I dunno, a sequel or something, this story is over! 'A night with the boys' is, much to my own dismay as well, OUT! Thanks for reading, guys!**


End file.
